January 31, 2013

Book Review: Stones of the Sky

“Break yourself open at the breaking point,
you, body of the one I love,
into another genesis, into the cataclysm…”

In another life, I planned to be a poet. I spent hours perfecting the craft of iambic pentameter and the beauty of haiku. I wanted to share my world in the ways of Annie Dillard and Carolyn Kizer. I dreamed to write the revolutionary poems of my generation, to echo the energy and moment of Audre Lorde and bell hooks. Somewhere on the journey, though, poetry got pushed aside for creative nonfiction and the radical energy was channeled into action, not words.

But on a cold winter night, when the rain outside freezes before the ground, I want to curl up with a book of poems and a cup of tea and not consider the challenges we face every day. One of the few poets who returns to my life over and over again is Pablo Neruda. Best known for his love poems and his prolific writing, Neruda is a watcher, a seer of beauty in all moments. Though I believe poetry is best read in its original language, I have found that the Copper Canyon Press translations are most delightful to my eyes and ears.

In Stones of the Sky, we find a collection of thirty poems written to Nature, a being worthy of the greatest love. Deepened by his love of the Chilean landscape of his birth, Neruda writes to crystals, stones, birds, water, and trees with a clarity that comes from years of romance. His language, with a unique command of description that is evocative but not overwhelming, brings each sense present to the scene of love he describes. With a translation by James Nolan that faces the original Spanish for every poem, this version is more than just a book of poetry. It’s a record. A memory.

The succulent
sky
had not only clouds,
not only space smelling of oxygen,
but an earthly stone
flashing here and there
changed into a dove,
changed into a bell,
into immensity, into a piercing
wind:
into a phosphorescent arrow,
into salt of the sky.

In the deepest parts of winter, I reach for the sunlight, however it may appear.

In a poem, a song, a cup of tea with a friend, the smile of a stranger. We walk so silently, so loudly, through this journey, and I wonder how often we miss these moments on sunlight. Poetry, of the love kind or the nature kind or the all kinds, poetry is my window into that bright April day when the air is crisp and the learning is deep. Neruda, or Audre Lorde, or Annie Dillard, or you — these are the poets of my heart.

What is your favorite poem? Who is your favorite poet?

Filed Under: Read & Play Tagged With: , , , 5 Comments
June 19, 2012

off the clock: beautiful, happy, sad

image by susannahwingate – click image for more info

I don’t want to be a coach today.

I love what I do; this is not about that.

It’s about vulnerability. Freedom. Identity. It’s about being who I am when I’m off the clock and being it here in this space. It’s about not having answers, or even questions. It’s about being. Openly. Unapologetically.

Today I was a wife. I saw my husband cry. I touched his arm. I listened. We laughed, shared burritos, and picked up groceries.

Today I was a daughter. I called my dad. I told him that I missed him and that I wanted to see him soon. I didn’t tell him that one of my deepest fears is that he will pass away before I move closer to home and then I’ll regret all the years I spent so far away from the nest. We talked about the weather. We said we’d probably see each other soon.

Today I cleaned out my entire house. We’re moving in a couple months, and today was purge day. Day of going through the entire house and making a pile of things we want to leave behind. A bunny creamer I got for a birthday. A throw we got as a wedding gift. The DVR we never even used. A pile of memories. Of shapes that have taken space in our home for years. All that we have no significant attachment to. Could I leave it all behind? Sometimes I want to.

This is who I was today. A nothing day, I guess. A mundane day. But filled with beautiful and happy and sad little moments.

If I was being a coach, I’d leave you with a thoughtful question so you could draw out your own lesson from this post. But I’m not gonna do that, because that’s not who I’m being today.

And besides, I trust you.

I trust you to gather up all the beautiful and happy and sad little moments of your day. Because that’s who you are. And sometimes the mundane is just enough.

Gathering light,

Filed Under: creating action, Plot Notes Tagged With: , , , , , 13 Comments
March 26, 2012

Learning to see again. the beauty in the breakdown.

What is mine to do in the world is to awaken people to other ways of seeing. To inspire hope where there is doubt, love where there is pain.

Two weeks ago I shared with you a draft of what will be my credo for life and work, as  I move into a new phase in both. This is the first and most essential statement, so I felt I should elaborate on it. I may elaborate on all of them, but this one is the key.

I have been blessed with an uncanny capacity for optimism, considering the amount of loss and pain I experienced early in life and the opposite nature of my mother. Despite the message that the world is dangerous, people can’t be trusted, and I am not worthy, I always seem to find the bright spot in the picture. I realize now that this is a gift that many don’t share, and could use help with.

We live in very confusing times. We are way overloaded with information, noise, and imagery. It is a wonder anyone can function with the amount of distraction most of us face each day. The way we do it is by tuning out a majority of it, but at what loss? I think for many the ability to filter out the garbage and see what is good is gone, and with it a lot is lost.

I had coffee and conversation with a good friend yesterday and we discussed this. I pointed out the window where there was a row of trees beautifully bursting with white blossoms. So beautiful, but surrounded by a strip mall, highway, cars, asphalt, glass, metal… How many people driving down that road actually notice those trees, we wondered? My friend agreed that this is a problem.

So, when I say it is my work to awaken people to other ways of seeing, I mean notice the trees but also notice what is beyond the surface.

I mention having experienced a lot of loss early on. The year I was thirteen I lost my father to suicide, my bedroom and all my belongings to a house fire, and whatever hope was left in my mother. It was a sad, sad year and shaped me in many ways. I remember coming into the house after the fire and looking into the shell of my room. Most everything was gone, but on the wall were the melted remains of a yellow princess phone dripping down onto the charred carpet. It was somehow beautiful in my eyes and I became fascinated by the beauty in the unexpected.

Birth and death, creation and destruction are what life is, and we need to embrace all of it to live fully.

In 2006 my interest in photography was rekindled in an abandoned factory. This is where my interest in learning to see, and in healing through art and imagery, really began. The striking tenacity of nature to reclaim her space with new growth in the rust and rubble is as beautiful to me as anything.

I take this way of seeing to all I encounter in life now. It is not always easy, but if I try I can see that there is a positive spin one can find in most situations. Where there is not is simply the fact that light cannot exist without darkness; we are both.

Do I have concerns about things, the planet, education, pointless war, social injustice…of course I do. However, I believe that in helping people to see in a more positive way, we give them hope and that gives them power. When we feel powerful we are motivated to work and to change. I believe that art is a means to achieve this. The image with the hand above is an example of how I use art myself as a tool for healing and change. It is art I do just for me, not to sell or achieve any level of expertise. It is raw and intuitive but contains symbols I have come back to again and again.

I am an artist using my hands to show, my heart to see, and my voice to tell.

I believe there is beauty in the breakdown, and I am not alone.

Tell me: What do you think, what do you see?

From the Heart,

Filed Under: Conversation Starters, Plot Notes Tagged With: , , , , , , , 18 Comments
September 28, 2011

where craftiness comes from: the courage to create

peaceful path by artdivacompany - click image for more info

Creativity comes in waves. Some days it’s full on and others it’s lacking that oomph. It can be just what you were expecting, or it can completely surprise you.

Having spoken to many different people who began their creative journeys at different walks of life and from very different upbringings, it has occurred to me that, like so many things, there is no one right answer. No one thing that sets us up to be more creative than others.

The one thing that sets “creatives” apart from others is that we actively do creative things.

As much as creativity can be encouraged throughout childhood, in the end it’s less about where our craftiness comes from and is more about the courage to let the creativity shine through. This isn’t just for those who follow a creative path, but also for those who choose creativity as their down time. There are so many other things we could fill our time doing that we need to remember that creating is special.

There is a beauty in allowing your mind to wander or to stop thinking about everything else for just a little while.

There is something amazing about being able to create something, however wonky or perfect that it may be, that you can never get from pulling it ready-made out of a box. It’s the feeling of accomplishment that comes from seeing something turn from materials into finished product. It’s the memories that the action created.

Creating is an expression of you. It can be a meditation or just a way of proving to yourself that you can achieve something today. Being able to use our creativity is a gift and I think it’s something to be thankful for, even if it doesn’t always turn out the way you were hoping.

Do you think so too?

Filed Under: Read & Play, Where Craftiness Comes From Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 5 Comments
August 19, 2011

little things link love: hawaii

Sunset in Maui by Tina Jett

Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959.

The title up there is a little bit of a misnomer. Hawaii (or Hawai´i, with its cute accent) is not a little thing. It’s a great, big, amazing thing. There are little things about it, though, that make it great. I had the good fortune of visiting Hawaii for the very first time six years ago. Before then, I thought of it as a likely nice place to visit, but not tops on my list. Don’t get me wrong… winters in Cleveland will make any place that sits above 50°F in the middle of winter a welcome tropical getaway. It was part of the United States, though, so in my naiveté, I dismissed it as being not as exciting as, say, Bora Bora, or something more imaginarily exotic.

And then I was proven wrong.

Hawaii, aside from having a colorful history, has quite the colorful present. Yes, there are the traditional American “conveniences” of McDonald’s and shopping malls and all that we’ve come to (unfortunately) identify ourselves with. Despite those modern attributes, I found myself, like many others visiting before me, completely enamored by it.

Absolutely breathtaking flora, fauna, and ocean life? Check.

Abundant opportunities for adventure and life-altering experiences? Double-check.

A culture that prides itself on holding tight to its heritage, despite previously-mentioned modernism and commerce? Checkity-check-check.

My week in Hawaii changed me. It changed the outlook I had on this beautiful spot on our globe, and the experiences I had changed my outlook on life. In that week, I found a favorite new hobby in ziplining. I woke up at 2am to drive to the top of a volcano, see the sun rise from terrain that looked like it was another planet, and ride a bike all the way back down. And I snorkeled. In the ocean. Where I couldn’t touch the bottom and there were creatures larger than me taking up residence.

This was huge. I do not swim. And I wanted to go back for more the next day.

This is the kind of thing that Hawaii does to you. Maybe you aren’t a fan of the more physical adventures that await, but are more into the relaxing, historical, or culinary kind. No matter. I guarantee you will come away changed in some measure and longing to come back for more. If you do make it to Hawaii some day, I encourage you to challenge yourself by exploring something new; something you’d never think to try without those beautiful islands whispering words of encouragement in your ear. You’ll thank them later.

There are many things Hawaii is known for. Here are a few to experience at home or on vacation:

  • Make a floral lei – I’ll admit that I was a little let down that my fantasy of stepping off a plane to beautiful leis being draped around my neck did not happen. Looks like you have to pay the airlines an extra fee to make that come true. Oh, well. Lei-making is a bit of a social gathering in Hawaii, common before big events like weddings and graduations. Why not make your own? It’s easy-peasy.
  • Eat you some musubi – The people of Hawaii love them some Spam. So much so, that they consume more of it than any other place on Earth. Brought over by military personnel during World War II, this suspect meat-in-a-can can be found in recipes galore. Musubi is the most popular Spam dish in Hawaii. Find out how you can make this sushi-style delicacy.
  • Learn about the beauty of Hawaiian quilts – I’m not a big quilt person, but traditional two-color Hawaiian quilts and their bold, graphic patterns had me at aloha. This cute, little site shares the history of this particular style of quilting and includes tips on making your own.
  • Explore Hawaiian eco-tourism – With the ever-increasing amount of people flocking to experience the natural beauty of the Hawaiian islands, it becomes increasingly more important to appreciate and protect said nature. This website for the Hawaii Ecotourism Association will point you in the right direction for eco-adventure and volunteer opportunities to check out during your stay. Why not learn a little and give back to the land that gives you so much more in return?
  • Link up to the Hawaiian surf network – Perhaps you get all ramped-up at the thought of tackling a 30-foot swell on the North Shore. If so, you are a die-hard surfing fan and the complete opposite of me. If that’s your thing, you need to check out Surf News Network, the go-to site for tide and weather info, the latest news in the surf world, and local links for the Hawaiian surf community.
  • Plan your Hawaiian vacation – If you’ve never been to Hawaii, but want to daydream about it or plan your trip, the official tourism site is really a great place to start. Find out the differences between the islands, see what events are taking place during your stay, and learn about all there is to see and do.

Have you been to Hawaii? What great experiences and tips would you share with others?

Filed Under: Link Love Tagged With: , , , , , , , 7 Comments